CH-UH district recognized nationally for equity work

CH-UH Superintendent Talisa Dixon and Verona (Wis.) Superintendent Dean Gorrell.

In September, the Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District was recognized in Washington, D.C., for fully reflecting America’s diversity at the highest levels of K–12 schools by equally including students of all backgrounds in Advanced Placement (AP) courses.

The district, represented by Superintendent Talisa Dixon, was honored in large part as a result of its partnership with the nonprofit Equal Opportunity Schools, which has assisted the district in identifying ways to provide equitable academic opportunities to all students, especially in regard to access and support for minorities taking AP courses.

“When we met with our Strategic Planning Committee two years ago,” said Dixon, “our community members were adamant that our plan address equity issues within the school district. As a result, goal 2 of our Strategic Plan centers on equity and our educational approach to empower all students. We want to provide an excellent education to each student in every district school and classroom.

“Paramount to this is access to rigorous courses, especially at the high school level. It is our goal to ensure that all students have equitable access to AP and high-level courses. We know that many of our students are capable of handling the rigor of AP courses but need encouragement and additional support.”

CH-UH was among a select group of districts recognized by Broderick Johnson, White House cabinet secretary and My Brother’s Keeper Taskforce chair, at the September dinner celebration, hosted by Equal Opportunity Schools and the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation.

Scott Wortman

Scott Wortman is the supervisor of communications for the Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District.

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Volume 9, Issue 11, Posted 7:09 PM, 11.01.2016